If you've paid any attention to the rhetoric surrounding the current presidential election, I'm sure you are aware that John Kerry's running mate is Osama Bin Laden and that President Bush is really a fascist, hell-bent on blowing up the world. It is because of outrageous claims like these that campaign-finance regulations should extend over unmonitored "independent" political organizations.
As ridiculous and amusing as the media war over the 2004 election has been so far, the hyperbole and complete lack of depth in these ads provides a disservice to voters, as we are bombarded by half-truths and blatant misrepresentations. With groups such as MoveOn.org and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth buying up airtime and filling headlines, it appears that any group making a bold enough claim can finagle its way into the public consciousness, regardless of the validity of its attacks.
But this shouldn't be a problem in 2004. The McCain-Feingold campaign reform bill was signed into law in 2002. This law eliminated the free flow of unregulated individual contributions (soft money) to political parties. Before McCain-Feingold went into effect, unlimited contributions to the Democratic and Republican parties were an easy way to maneuver around the strict limits for contributions to specific political campaigns.
Yet despite positive steps to clean up campaign funding, the McCain-Feingold bill omitted the regulation of independent political groups. And without any hesitation, this loophole has been widely exploited, primarily by anti-Bush activists. Case in point, billionaire George Soros has contributed over $15.5 million to oust President Bush in the upcoming election. He has even gone so far as to say that he would gladly contribute more money, telling The Washington Post, "[defeating Bush] is the central focus of my life."
With individual campaign contribution limits set at $4,000 per election cycle, the ability of one man to spend more than $15 million decimates any notion of equality and fair play in the electoral process. Regardless of party affiliation, no supporter of democratic government ought to find this acceptable.
And unlike the advertisements of legitimate political campaigns, these pejorative ads do not have to be endorsed by the candidates. You'll never hear John Kerry sanction the ads of MoveOn.org, just as you'll never hear "I'm George Bush, and I approve this message" following any of the ads put out by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. And without this feature, campaigns can indirectly have independent groups act as political mercenaries, putting out harmful ads without being held responsible for their contents.
Fortunately, President Bush and our own Sen. John McCain are seeking solutions to this increasingly destructive threat to fair elections. On Aug. 27 Bush and McCain announced that they would go to court to question the legality of the ads from these outside political organizations. This marks a rare occasion, as Bush and McCain vehemently disagreed about the need for campaign finance reform during the 2000 Republican primary. Oddly enough, many political pundits believe that Bush's defeat of McCain in 2000 was due in part to independent political groups running anti-McCain ads throughout the South.
Bush's suit argues that the Federal Election Commission must enforce contribution limits to independent political groups. The Bush campaign also accuses some of these groups of illegally harmonizing their activities with the Kerry campaign. Accordingly, the Kerry campaign has made similar accusations about right-leaning groups working with the Bush campaign.
Nonetheless, the mere possibility of such collusion should warrant decisive action to ensure the integrity of federal elections. There is no reason that political organizations performing the same functions as political campaigns should operate under a much more lenient set of finance standards.
If President Bush's legal action fails, a legislative solution will become necessary. It stands to reason that Congress should eliminate the loopholes that its 2002 campaign reform bill created.
In the movie "Bulworth," Warren Beatty's character warned that "our system of checks and balances has become a system of checks, checks and more checks." As the power of the media, in its various forms, continues to grow we cannot allow millionaires, to control the political discourse of our nation. Our leaders need to continue to fight for fairness and accountability in our elections.
I'm Macy Hanson, and I approve this message.
Macy Hanson is a political science and philosophy sophomore. Reach him at macy.hanson@asu.edu.
